


Frank the Tank

by mggislife2789



Category: Criminal Minds, Spencer Reid - Fandom
Genre: Adopting a dog, F/M, Reader-Insert, losing a pet, pitbull - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-18
Updated: 2017-03-19
Packaged: 2018-10-07 06:51:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,292
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10354569
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mggislife2789/pseuds/mggislife2789
Summary: Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters or their original stories. This is only for fun. It's where my brain goes after the credits roll. No copyright intended. Better safe than sorry. ;)





	1. Chapter 1

You loved your job as a vet tech. You really did. There was almost nothing better than going to work, playing with, feeding and taking care of cute puppies, and then coming home to your boyfriend of two years. But with all the good, came those days where you had to be in the room when someone was losing a member of their family. Today had been a day - three senior dogs needed to be transported over the rainbow bridge, and you were in the room every time, sobbing right alongside the family members. When it came to putting dogs down, you always felt the need to stay in the room with the family; let them know they weren’t alone. But it definitely took a lot out of you. Taking a deep breath, you walked up to the door and slowly turned the knob, the energy completely drained out of you.

“Oh, you had a bad day, didn’t you?” Spencer asked the second you opened the door. He was sitting on the couch reading a book after getting home at around 5 o’clock. Just as he was driving home, you had to go out for an emergency at the office, so at 7 o’clock you were finally able to return home. “What happened?” he asked.

“I had to let three dogs go today,” you sniffled, your eyes filling with emotion as you remembered the babies you’d been with today - a german shepherd, a K9 officer with the FBI as a matter of fact, a poodle, belonging to an elderly couple, and a bulldog, whose owner was a big, burly man you’d never expect to see crying - but he had sobbed as he let go of his best friend - probably the worst out of anyone. Spencer just listened as you recounted your day, gently rubbing your back as you teared up again. “It’s just days like today that make me hate what I do.”

Reaching over, he grabbed your legs and pulled you into his lap, allowing you to rest your head on his chest. You always found it calming to listen to his heartbeat. “I’m so sorry,” he said, smoothing your hair down while you closed your eyes. “But you do something that takes a lot of compassion to do. You make sure they aren’t in pain anymore and more importantly you make the families feel like they aren’t alone.” 

He always knew just the right thing to say. While these kinds of days came around fairly often unfortunately, you did feel better about helping people through such a difficult time. Plus, this sadness rarely outweighed the good days - the playful pounces on your chest as they came in for the first time, the excitement for treats, the learning commands - it filled your heart with joy. Days like these were just a payment for the rest of it - the universe’s subtle way of balancing things out. “I know,” you sighed. “Thank you. It just all happened at once today.”

Spencer had asked you out two years ago. Within the year, he’d asked you to move in with him. And recently, you’d been talking about getting a dog. “You want to maybe look at dogs?” he asked with a smile. “We’ve been talking about getting one and looking at dogs always makes you happy.”

That made you smile. “Yesssss,” you said. “We’re still thinking of a pittie right?” For the longest time, you’d wanted a pitbull. A friend of yours had one when you were growing up and she was the sweetest dog in existence. Since then, you knew you wanted one of your own eventually, and Spencer seemed to really like the idea of a pitbull. 

“Definitely,” he said, reaching over to the side table to grab his laptop and turn it on. “I really like the gray ones.” You did too, but you tended to have to buy those and you really wanted to adopt. There were so many puppies that were between the ages of 1 and 2 that got thrown to the side for even younger dogs, so the thought of buying a puppy when there were other dogs that needed a home didn’t sit well with you. “If we find one of those that needs adopting, I’m probably going to fall in love with it, but I know you want to adopt.”

As you scrolled through the myriad of pitbull rescues in the area, your sadness from the day’s events slowly slipped away. How could you be sad when you were looking at the adorable faces of so many pitties that needed a home. “Oh my god,” you said, pointing towards a gray one named Lira, “what about her? Click on her.”

Excitedly, Spencer clicked on the picture of the six-year-old female pit. She was beautiful, but when you looked at the bio on her, it said that she wasn’t good with kids and both of you agreed that you’d be getting married and starting a family soon, so whatever dog you did adopt needed to be good with children. A little disappointed, Spencer clicked back and continued to scroll down the page until you found a the cutest mug ever. You clapped and pointed while Spencer clicked on the picture. “Do you realize how big this dog is?” he asked in amazement. Despite the question, you could see on his face that he liked him as much as you did. “His name is Frank.”

“Please tell me that’s short for Frank the Tank,” you laughed. At over 110 pounds, Frank was enormous. He’d been used as a bait dog as a puppy, but had been rescued in a bust. While other puppies from that raid had been adopted out already, Frank was consistently left behind because he was so big. He was one of the the biggest pitbulls in the state apparently. “It says he’s great with kids. It’s just that parents are scared of him. But he’s mushy. And he thinks he’s a lap dog, and he likes this purple donut toy. He’s only 4. Spence, can we go look at him this weekend? Please!?” you begged, kicking your feet around like a two-year-old. “I wanna go meet Frank.”

He seemed a little hesitant, but the look on your face must’ve changed his mind; you were definitely pouting. “Sure,” he drew out, “We can go meet him this weekend, but we really have to make sure that he’s actually good with kids of all ages before we do anything, because if he’s not good with babies…”

“Then obviously we can’t,” you finished. “I agree. But look, he’s so cute!”

“He really is,” he said, scrolling through the various pictures of Frank with his favorite purple donut toy. “I can’t believe how enormous he is.”

You’d seen an even bigger one on the news. “Have you heard of Hulk?”

“As in the fictional superhero created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, who first appeared in the debut issue of the comic book The Incredible Hulk in May 1962 published by Marvel Comics?” he laughed.

He probably memorized that from somewhere - your big-brained dork. “No, dork. I mean, the over 170-pound pitbull, the largest ever on record.” His mouth dropped open, immediately looking up a picture of one of the largest pitbulls ever recorded. “Apparently he’s one of the sweetest dogs in the world and he’s great with the couple’s young son, so maybe that will mean good things for Frank the Tank.”

“What if his name isn’t Frank the Tank?” he laughed, already liking the moniker you’d given to the dog you didn’t have yet. “You still going to use the full name?” 

“Yes,” you said straight-faced. “He’s 110 pounds. His name is Frank. He’s a tank. He’s Frank the Tank.”


	2. 110 Pounds of Love

With little Spencer Jr. chilling out in the Boba baby wrap, you walked outside to start doing some of the dishes. Spencer claimed he was going to start on dinner after he finished reading and walking the dog, your 110-pound brown pitbull Frank a.k.a. Frank the Tank, but when you walked out of the bedroom, you saw a giant brown blob sitting directly on Spencer’s lap. 

“I can’t get up,” he laughed, craning his head to see you and baby Spencer walking out of the bedroom. “He thinks he’s a lap dog.” Frank was curled up, fast asleep, right on Spencer’s lap. He’d been reading his book, using the dog as a place to rest his hands, but now that he wanted to make dinner and walk him, he couldn’t manage to get him up. When that dog was asleep, he was completely dead weight. Frank was fast asleep. “Help me.”

You smirked as you walked into the kitchen and turned on the sink, waiting for the water to come to a comfortable temperature. “I think you might be out of luck,” you replied. While the water warmed, you pulled out your phone and walked over to Spencer. You needed a picture of this giant lump of dog pinning your husband to the couch. 

Just as you clicked the picture, you heard a knock at the door. That would be JJ, Will, Henry and Michael coming over for dinner. JJ and Will got a chance to hang out with mini Spencer, while Henry and Michael fawned over Frank. The Tank took to the boys immediately, so you were confident he’d be a great companion for the baby as he grew up. “Hello loves,” you said, watching as Frank happily jumped off Spencer’s lap and went to go kiss the boys. 

“Frank!” they screamed, placing their arms gently around Frank’s big, burly neck. “Feck!” Michael attempted to yell fetch, but considering he was only three it came out more like fuck so you all had to try not to laugh. While the boys ran around the apartment, Spencer was finally able to get up, lifting Henry and Michael up off the ground and rough-housing with them until you asked him to walk the dog. 

“How would you like to come with me to walk Frank?” he asked the happy-go-lucky children. 

“I’ll come with you too,” Will drawled. “Then we come back, wash our hands and get ready for dinner okay? Y/N and Spencer have been nice enough to invite us over.”

“It’s no problem,” you said. You got a little extra help with the baby from JJ and Will, and the boys absolutely adored Frank. It was a win-win all around. “Have fun with Frank, babies.”

As soon as they walked out the door, you sighed. You loved your boys, both adult and child, human and dog, but there was never a quiet moment anymore. JJ knew and said nothing as she helped you start dinner. Hopefully, Spencer and Will would take their time with the boys.

—–

“Slow down, boys!” Will called, watching as Henry and Michael walked ahead, big brother holding on to little brother’s hand. “Frank wants to catch up!” They looked back and ran toward the dog, arms outstretched as he slobbered them in kisses. “Can’t run too far ahead. You gotta stay near the adults.”

In the proceeding year, Spencer’s arm muscles had bulked up considerably. All thanks to the tank. Trying to wrangle the 110-pound pitbull proved more difficult than he had ever thought; Frank wasn’t mean at all, he was just very excitable. “Woah, calm down Frank,” Spencer said, grabbing tighter onto the leash as Frank got a peek at a squirrel. Will laughed as Frank started barking at the creature that ran lightning speed up the side of a tree. “He really likes squirrels.”

“Honestly,” Spencer said, “he wants to play with them. He has no idea how big he is.”

“Yea, JJ was telling me he thinks he’s a lap dog.”

“Apparently. I’m constantly cold though, and he’s a walking, barking furnace, so he keeps me warm.”

They four turned the corner to start heading back toward the apartment when another squirrel crossed Frank’s path. He lunged forward, causing Spencer to lose his grip and drop the leash. Frank ran forward, past the boys to follow the squirrel, but thankfully he was a very good listener. “Frank! Stop!” he screamed, running in front of Henry and Michael to the dog who’d stopped in his tracks. “You can’t go running off like that, you’ll hurt yourself.” Breathing heavy from excitement, Frank just wagged his tail and licked Spencer’s face. “Let’s get back upstairs.”

—–

About 15 minutes later, you and JJ heard the unmistakable stampeding footsteps of your boys. “Thank you for the complete and total silence JJ, I love you.” Leaning over, you kissed JJ on the cheek. Spencer Jr. had been asleep the entire time, so you got some much deserved silence.

“No problem,” she laughed quietly. “Silence is golden.”

“And rare.”

The door flew open, revealing one barreling pitbull, two boys with an endless amount of energy, and two very tired dads. “How was your walk?” you asked.

“Frank here really likes squirrels, doesn’t he?” Will laughed. “Go wash up boys!”

Frank really did love his squirrels. “He ran in front of me after one,” Spencer said, “But he stopped as soon as I yelled.”

“Good boy,” you said to Frank as he sniffed at mini Spencer. You handed him a treat and he got his nose right near the baby’s butt, moving back almost immediately. “Oh, I think Frank is telling us we have a dirty diaper.”

Considering where he was hanging, JJ did as all mothers do, bending down to do a sniff test on the baby. “Oh yea,” she laughed, “he definitely needs a change. Want me to get him?”

“Gods, yes,” you said. Having friends over really took the pressure off.


End file.
